Before I hit 70, I worried about the game, as I knew it coming to an end. I worried that from there on out, there would be nothing but dull grinding to look forward to.

I couldn't have been more wrong! There is so much diverse, fun, engaging, challenging stuff to do, I began to find it overwhelming. So, I compiled this guide to set it all straight in my own head, and I hope it will prove useful to you as well.

This guide was originally written by User:Hyacynthe when The Burning Crusade was the most recent expansion, and has been expanded since then to include comments on Wrath of the Lich King content. While the level cap has gone up, some of the activities listed may still be attractive at 70.

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Having a flying mount will change your entire experience of WoW. A lot of the end-game content is not accessible without one, so getting one is more or less mandatory. To get the money for your first flyer, do quests, gather materials for sale, or sell crafted items. Questing is the quickest route; I had all the money I needed in two days!

The epic flyers are incredibly fast, at 280%-310% of your normal running speed. They are also, if you add in the cost of the epic flyer riding skill, incredibly expensive. Some can be acquired by grinding your reputation with certain factions to exalted, or as an arena reward, or as a drop in Tempest Keep or Utgarde Pinnacle, to name a few. However you aspire to getting one, it is a big undertaking.

Though you will often want to fly in Outland and Northrend, there are still times and places where you will continue to need or prefer a ground mount. In addition to the racial epic ground mounts, the PvP mounts, and the Frostsaber mount (Alliance only) from the old level 60 end game, there are numerous epic ground mounts which you can work towards in the end game as well.

When I hit 70, I still had a bunch of regular quests to do. In fact I had barely scratched the surface in two whole zones: Netherstorm and Shadowmoon Valley. This is pretty common, so chances are you will still have enough quests to keep you busy for a while.

There are special quest chains that will require a group of four or five:

The Ring of Blood in Nagrand: If you haven't done this chain before 70, do it! It's fun, and you will get a lot of potions and gold, and possibly an item upgrade.

If you don't mind a bit of grinding for materials, crafted epic-quality gear is generally worth the time it will take to make them. I gathered the materials for the Frozen Shadoweave set for my shadow priest a little bit at a time in between questing and other activities.

Some people fill the absence of an XP bar with a Reputation bar. Much of what you may want or need for the rest of your end-game depends on your reputation with numerous factions. See the quartermaster of each faction to see what items will become available to you at what stage of reputation with them (Neutral, Friendly, Honored, Revered, Exalted). These include armor, weapons, heroic dungeon keys, armor inscriptions (which permanently enhance the quality of a helm, shoulder, or leg piece), recipes, patterns, food, and drink. Make a list of those factions with whom you want to increase your reputation. Then do it! Reputation is gained by doing quests, daily quests, and dungeon runs.

Not really my cuppa, but there's still a lot here. In addition to the battlegrounds, which those under 80 can participate in, there's Arena combat, which requires you to form a permanent team with one or more people.

Patch 2.3 also introduced a set of daily battleground quests. Gonna do some battleground runs? Why not get extra gold and honor while you're at it?

World PVP: At 80 you may still find it worthwhile to take part in the fight for Halaa or the Spirit Towers in the Bone Wastes. Patch 2.4 added daily world PVP quests for these two spots. Wintergrasp is also highly contested.

Unless you hate PVE, you're going to spend a fair bit of time in the heroic versions of these dungeons, to increase your rep with various factions, make money, complete quests, and get better gear. For a full team of five 80s, these can be challenging instances.

By defeating bosses and accomplishing other tasks (such as the daily Heroic Dungeon quest) you will be rewarded with Emblems of Heroism, which can be used to buy epic quality items from vendors in your respective faction's area in Dalaran.

Once the exclusive province of only "hardcore" players, changes to the dynamics and design of raid dungeons in the new end-game have made raiding much more accessible to "casual" players this time around. The wide range of good pre-raid gear available makes it possible for players to use various different avenues - crafting, dungeons, and PVP - to prepare for raiding at their own pace. Raids now require smaller groups, which increases the individual's impact on the raid, and makes it easier for leaders to coordinate attendance.

Raid dungeons are difficult, complex endeavors which, when they go poorly, can cost you more in gold (armor repairs) than you will gain from them. Until the cohesion starts to form and raid encounters become familiar and easier to defeat, it will be up to you to determine whether the intangible benefits you get from raiding are worth it. The level 80 raids are as follows:

The new endgame also includes a number of daily quests, which are just that—quests which you can do every day. Each character may complete 25 daily quests a day—enough to keep you busy for hours. Even if you don't do all of them every day, they still offer a readily-available source of money, especially if you've done every other quest you can. Many people do them to help save up for their epic flying mount.

Daily quests are the future of the casual WoW endgame—new ones are added all the time, so players do not have to compete against one another so much to finish them, and resulting in a wider variety of quests to let players pick the ones they enjoy.